DSUSD Job Fair Coming Soon

DSUSD job fair for essential positions on March 19.

On March 19 Desert Sands Unified School District will be holding a job fair for what are known as “classified” positions. These are essential jobs within a school district that provide necessary infrastructure support for our staff and students. Examples would be purchasing, finance, landscaping, maintenance, nutrition service, and more. These staff members make up the support team of the district as they feed our children, order supplies, pay the bills, and so very much more.

In addition to this method of recruiting the best possible candidates to join our team committed to the care of children, DSUSD has begun a new training program specifically focused on creating a trained pool of substitutes for jobs as nutrition services workers in our central kitchen or school site cafeterias and for custodians at schools and administrative offices.

Funded through DSUSD’s participation in the Desert Regional Adult Education Consortium operating under the California Adult Education Program, the premise for the program is to provide the district with quality substitutes and, ultimately, full-time employees, while assisting adult community members to find work. Child Welfare and Attendance Director Larry Bellanich brought the idea to DSUSD after hearing about the success of a similar program within Riverside County. “This program seemed like a win/win/win – expanding opportunities available within the DSUSD adult school, meeting staffing needs of the district, and helping community members obtain educational advancement and increased employability.”

The inaugural session was held over eight days in early February with a total of 32 hours of training. Program participants spent two days with nutrition services in a classroom setting at Eisenhower Community Education Center learning the regulations and processes involved in preparing student meals with Director of Nutrition Services Daniel Cappello. They then trained in the central kitchen at the district education center and at the Indio High School cafeteria. At the completion of their training they earned their food handler cards.

Another two days were spent with the team from the maintenance and operations as Custodial Supervisor Joel Parks provided intensive training in the protocols used by our staff in the cleaning of our buildings. The additional time found the applicants with Personnel Specialist Diana Tiaga working on necessary paperwork required for district employment and with DSUSD College and Guidance Counselor for Adult Education Denise Bellanich who offered instruction and support in completing general job procurement activities such as developing resumes, writing cover letters, completing job applications, and polishing interview skills.

The first members of our substitute pool are now ready to begin work following district funded physicals, TB tests, and Live Scan background check. Cappello is excited about the high quality candidates who completed the program. “This program is great! The labor market is difficult right now. We can’t wait for good employees to come to us, we need to go out and find them.”
The next session will be advertised soon, and is planned to take place in March.